Fragments
by The.Hoppy
Summary: Exactly what the title suggests. Ficlets about whatever I feel like, really. Written by request, on occasion. /Mostly ShizNat/
1. Bad Girl

A/N-- Hey ya'll. Yes, Naolin decided to write something else. Blame/thank ficeler37. They gave me the idea. Anyway, this'll be a series of drabble-thingies, mostly by request. Want something written? Drop a review and give me a promt. I'll write it, within reason. Thanks for this chapter go to KuraiNova. Hope this isn't too off. It's just my take on it, after all. Also, if anyone can think of a better title... Too tired to come up with anything else.

* * *

Yuuki Nao had never been what one would call a 'good girl'. She'd been called a delinquent, a slut, and some other things best left unsaid. It was enough to make her want to scream and run, to tell them it wasn't her fault they only saw what they wanted to. 

Which, ironically, was exactly what she'd done, sans the telling. But that had only been because no one would listen. No one was ever willing to take her side. And here Kuga was, spouting some crap about her attacking the nun, then trying to shoot her. Either she'd snapped, or she was trying to frame it on her, just like everyone else.

She'd missed the look of remorse, of guilt. She hadn't thought twice about Midori being worried, trying to help. All that mattered was the burning pain where her eye had been only moments earlier, and the fact that, once again, it was her against everyone.

Clutching the left side of her face as if it would stop the ache, holding tightly to Julia as if her Child could somehow protect her from the harshness of the world, she vowed not to let her guard down again. Friends, trust, happiness, all those were for the weak.

But Nao was strong, she needed none of it. All she wanted, all she could make herself work for, was revenge. So they wanted to make her out to be a bad girl? Let them have one.


	2. Who's Line Is It?

A/N- Finally, someone gave me a prompt. As I said, I'm writing by request. Anyway, Sayosi suggested, and I quote, 'For a dab of change, my prompt will be the words (names) Romeo and Juliet with the characters Chie and Aoi'. She also suggested 'popsicle, fan, and towel for Shizuru and Natsuki', but I didn't want to chance writing that. So here you have it. Not exactly a drabble, more like a short...thing. Here's hoping you'll like it. Yes, the ending is slightly awkward. Yes, I'm too lazy to fix it. And yes Sayosi, this was inspired by that machine. I didn't use it for this, though.

* * *

Face caught in a cross between happiness and some emotion Mai was sure she'd invented just for this moment, Aoi flung out her hand and cried out- 

"O, Romeo, Romeo! Wherefore art thou, Romeo?"

It was the day for school play tryouts, and all prospective cast members were crowded into the auditorium to try their luck. Mai wasn't participating in the actual play, having landed the role of script-writer instead. When she'd jokingly suggested to Chie and Aoi that they should give it a shot, they'd taken it to heart.

Surprisingly, they weren't doing too badly at all. In fact, they'd been better than everyone else so far. Of course, for a few of them that hadn't been saying much. When one hopeful Juliet had leaned too far out of the tower and fallen, there had been a collective wince. Not long after, another tripped over one of the many lines of string stretched out across the stage that only Nao could have set up. Then there had also been that time earlier that morning when Mikoto, cast as a tree, had blindly knocked Romeo off the stage. It seemed less people were willing to try out for the parts now, and she couldn't blame them. Sipping on the water she'd brought with her, she watched the scene unfold.

"-and I will take thy word; yet if thou swear'st, thou mayst prove smexy."

Mai gave a start. She was sure she hadn't written _that_ down. Had she messed up somehow?

Chie was grinning as she returned, "Lady, by yonder dramatic tree I swear" she gestured towards Mikoto, "If thou would'st let me up to thine tower, thou shalt have no sleep tonight."

Choking on her water, the poor script-writer tried to sink into her seat. There was absolutely no way she could have written that. No way at all. _Why me?_, she wondered.

First there had been that business over Natsuki sulking and coming to class late, but that had been easier to fix. All she'd had to do was buy her that monster of an alarm clock, and problem solved. She'd also been moping over Shizuru, though Mai knew she'd never admit it. She'd invited Natsuki to come and watch the tryouts, but the lone-wolf wasn't at home. She was probably riding her bike, and there would be no reaching her until Monday, today being Friday. But that was nothing compared to… She jammed her fingers in her ears and did her best to tune out the rest of the scene.

In that way, no one was more surprised than she when they got the part. Mouth hanging open, eyes wide, she stalked over to them and pointed an imposing finger.

"What was that? Script-butchering, evil…why they'd give you the part after that…"

Chie gave an easy-going grin.

"Easy, Mai-chan. Our superior acting skills won them over."

Opening her mouth to argue, she realized they_ had_ actually been the best. Any competition had long since left, not willing to risk being the next victim of the cursed stage. She wanted to reprimand them, but all she could come up with was a grudging, "Don't ruin my play."

They saluted. "Will do."


	3. Make a Wish

A/N—After reading NatsuHime's latest chapter, I wanted to write something with a birthday in it. Oh, and to clear up some apparent confusion, these drabble/short story thingies are in no way connected. If they were, I'd have three ongoing stories at once, which would be…gah. Yes, this thing has no plot. And yes, the color mauve is out to get Natsuki.

* * *

"Make a wish!"

Staring at her mauve cake and deciding that Mai had to have known how much she hated that color, she prodded it with the end of her fork. She hadn't made that many wishes on candles, and those years that she had she could barely remember. There had been her wish for a dog when she was younger, and then she'd gotten Duran. After that, they had all been rather trivial things, up until… She remembered wishing for a means of getting revenge. Not, she was sure, what every young girl wanted for her birthday. But this year was different. This year she had friends, and so… What did she want?

"What if I can't think of anything?"

Mai raised an eyebrow. "Just wish for something, anything. It's not that hard."

But it was 'that hard'. She hadn't had much practice with wishes; what were you supposed to want, anyway? She had money, she had her bike, she had that wolf plushie Shizuru had bought her the year before last. Wishing for world peace would be cheesy as well as impossible, and she was sure she wouldn't get a real wolf no matter how much she wanted one. Turning her head aside stubbornly, she ignored the cheerily smoking candle.

"I don't want anything. What am I supposed to-"

She was cut off by a pair of arms wrapping around her shoulders, and a voice mumbling in her ear. "Nothing? Nothing at all?"

"Sh-shizuru! Don't sneak up on people like that, it's not-"

Undaunted by her protest, the older girl only tightened her grip. "There's nothing Natsuki wants, nothing that would make her happy?"

Happy, huh? Relaxing into the hug, she let herself think about it. She was already happy, wasn't she? At least, happier than she'd been in a while. Friends, a party, Shizuru…_ Shizuru._ Grinning, she closed her eyes and blew out the candle.


	4. Cat and Mouse

A/N-- Gah, no sleep yet again. I owed Kurai a drabble, so here it is. Happy, Kurai? You've got me liking them now too. But of course, that was your goal all along. Ah, lost causes. I hope this is to your liking, since it took me a good while. It's not quite a drabble, I guess. More like a short...thing.

Oh, to clear some things up, none of these are connected. None. Not at all. Though that one with the play tied in with my other story, that was just for fun. This is un-beta'd, and written on about two hours of sleep in the last couple of days. Be warned.

Disclaimer-- Yes, I own Mai HiME. That's why the voices died in the English version. Natsuki sounds like she's 30. 30! And Shizuru, oh Shizuru... Sunrise, you FAIL. /end mini-rant

* * *

Natsuki didn't know what to think about Nao. If musings wouldn't get her anywhere, it might be best to base things on fact. Two years younger, red hair, green eyes, had taken to visiting her apartment, talking for a few minutes, then leaving. After a while, she'd even moved in. It was convenient for her, what with her mother's hospital bills, to not have to get her own apartment now that Chie had moved into Aoi's room. If you'd told her that she and Nao would be on friendly terms after the Carnival (she couldn't call them friends, not quite) she would have wondered what planet you were from. But there was no open hostility, and sometimes they got along quite well. 

It was…different after Shizuru left. After seeing her off at the airport, she'd stayed in her bed for days, not answering the phone or the door. Hours were spent wondering if she could have done anything differently, but it always came back to the same thing. Shizuru was her friend, her best friend, but nothing more. She didn't deserve to be lied to. Even if she'd asked her to stay, it would only have hurt both of them. They still exchanged letters and talked on the phone, but all the same, having her gone was a blow. A heavy one. Talking to someone like Mai might have helped, but she didn't want to seem pathetic. And, ironically, that was exactly what she had been.

Not going to classes, not talking to people, staying holed up in her apartment. Nao had grudgingly moved in with Mai, at least for a few days. It was almost too easy, just staying in bed all day. Of course, it had been extremely hard to keep on ignoring people, especially when a certain redhead had broken down her door, pulled her out of bed by one arm, and had told her, very loudly, to stop being such an idiot. Natsuki grimaced, remembering the yelling that had followed. On Nao's part, anyway. She'd been mostly quiet.

'_What happened to you? How could you let that woman affect you so much?'_

Nao always refused to say Shizuru's name, almost as if it would summon her back. Even hearing it from the remnants of the (still obsessed) fanclub made her shiver. It was something that always reminded Natsuki, no matter how hard she tried to forget, that her best friend had been…something else during the Carnival.

'_It's not that, I just…'_

'_Liar!'_

The younger girl's hand had pulled her arm up, Natsuki slumping to the floor. There was something in her voice that made her look up, and she was taken aback by the fury in those eyes that were a lighter shade of green than hers. Fury that wasn't directed at her, but at…

'_Don't just lie there and mope around, damn it! You don't act like yourself anymore, and it's all because of her!'_

'_Why do you care?'_

If anything, that question had made her more angry. Pulling Natsuki fully upright, she'd spoken only one word.

'_Idiot.' _

Not giving her any time to figure that out, the next thing Natsuki had felt was a pair of lips crushing against hers with a bruising intensity. It was hard, desperate, and left the older girl gasping for breath. When she looked at the figure in front of her, she had a fleeting impression of a game of cat and mouse. But which was which…? The eyes in front of her were almost…vulnerable. And behind that was something else. Something... If she had to choose a word, she would have said pleading. But that didn't make sense, since Nao had never begged for anything, and most likely never would.

There had been no time to figure it out, since the other girl had fled her apartment and left her to her thoughts again. Thoughts that went in circles, with no definite answer. Alright, back to facts. _She loves me. I…what do I feel? _Not hate, certainly. That had never been the case. Friends, then? Sure. They were roommates, after all. _She kissed me._ Then there was that. It hadn't been bad, quite the opposite. Of course, having only kissed someone once before, she supposed she was in no position to judge. _So you didn't mind it?_ No, yes, something. Yes, the something option sounded good. It wasn't a yes or a no, and that was perfect, because her answer was somewhere in between. She might go so far as to say she'd enjoyed it, but it had scared her too. Because this was like some sort of repeat.

And Nao's eyes had been…

The first time, bored. The second time, betrayed. The third time, malicious. And this time…

'_You and I are similar.'_

She'd said that, hadn't she? And it was true, in more ways than one.

_Maybe…maybe we both need this. _

It wasn't quite an answer, but it would do, for now. Which was why, when Nao came through the door later that night, ready to throw herself into bed, she was pleasantly surprised to find herself being pressed onto said bed by her dark-haired roommate.

_Maybe…this could work. _


	5. Happy Halloween

A/N- Alright, so I was a few minutes late. Well, on the time here, it's still the 31st, so there. I was out getting my yearly candy haul, so I have an excuse. What? You're never too old to go trick-or-treating! ...Right then. I wanted to write something for Halloween, so I did. Un-beta'd, written in a matter of minutes. Please report all typos.

* * *

Kuga Natsuki settled happily into the couch in her living room, getting ready for a satisfying several hours of sleep. Shizuru was still tinkering around in the kitchen, but she should be done soon. Halloween was a not-so-necessary evil, but it should be over soon enough. Their apartment was well out of the way, so they hadn't gotten that many people brave enough to face the shadows and whispering gusts of wind lurking in the cracks of the old sidewalk.

That was just as well, since she didn't see why Shizuru had made her dress up as a princess. She didn't look half-bad, and she supposed the dress was alright, but still. It was the principle of the thing. No one should be dragged off to a costume store at the last minute, when one was least expecting it, and wheedled into the most elaborate dress there. She'd only agreed to buy it on the condition that Shizuru dressed up too, though it hadn't been much of a punishment at all. The other girl had happily chosen a knight's costume, complete with a dangerous looking sword. Prop or no, it wasn't something you wanted to mess with.

The upside was that the only people who had seen them were Nao, Mai, and Tate. Okay, so maybe that was more people than she'd wanted, but it was better than everyone she knew. Mikoto had been doing the rounds with Chie and Aoi, who would be paid back with one-third of Mai's candy (Chie drove hard bargains).

Mai had rung the doorbell earlier that night, armed with a camera. When she saw Natsuki, she'd snapped a picture before the other girl could protest. ('In her second year of college, the lone-wolf destroys her reputation by showing her true colours on Halloween') Scoffing and telling her friend that only Chie could come up with something like that, her apparent disinterest had been shattered only moments later when she made an attempt to claim and kill the camera. A failed one, though she had managed to land it a glancing blow. She only hoped that would be enough to ruin the film.

Nao hadn't had a chance to start teasing, since Shizuru had chosen that moment to walk in and sit on one of the plush chairs near the couch in what could only be called a threatening manner. How anyone could make sitting on a chair look potentially dangerous was beyond Natsuki, but it had been done. Of course, she doubted Nao would have been able to say anything anyway, considering her own costume. She'd probably never know how the others had convinced (forced?) her to dress up as the spider from that kid's book…something with a web, but they had.

After taking pictures of everyone (had that been a chicken costume Mai was wearing?), the other group went on their way. And now, peace and quiet. What joy. Sinking further into the couch, Natsuki grinned. She'd had a long day, but now there was absolutely nothing that could possible disturb-

_ding-dong_

Oh hell. Maybe if she ignored it, whoever it was would go away. …Okay, nope. Still there. The noises in the kitchen had stopped, which meant Shizuru would answer the door if she didn't.

Grumbling, she pushed herself off the couch and stomped to the door, practically throwing it open. Staring down expectantly, she blinked. There were three kids standing there, each wearing a different coloured suit. She twitched. Had Midori really gone through with it? She'd been talking about it last year, but…

Her fears were confirmed when, a few moments later, all three of them posed and shouted, "HiME Sentai, engage!" Gah…why her? She stared blankly before remembering she was supposed to be doing something. Candy, right. And now the kids' parents were looking at her strangely, as if she was the person you'd tell your children to stay afraid from. Not surprising, considering her silence.

She was saved further embarrassment (or perhaps only made more mortified) by Shizuru snaking one arm around her waist at the same time as she held out a still-full bowl to the 'HiME Sentai' with the other one. As if that wasn't bad enough, she took the opportunity to murmur 'Happy Halloween' against Natsuki's neck. Flushing, the dark-haired girl grabbed the bowl from the teasing woman and offered it stiffly to the kids. Laughing happily, they each took a handful and ran off. Their parents were equally happy to leave, it seemed. No wonder. Twisting away from the embrace and flopping back onto the couch, Natsuki groaned.

"Did you really have to do that?"

"Would Natsuki have preferred it if their parents had called the police on you?"

"They'd be more likely to do it _now_, considering how you could have scarred their kids."

"Is Natsuki angry with me?"

Chancing a glance at Shizuru, Natsuki realised with no small amount of annoyance that her lower lip was trembling. Ploy or not, it was working.

"…No."

"Then I'm happy."

To prove just how happy, she threw herself down next to Natsuki. Thank God for wide couches. Trying to act upset and failing miserably, the younger girl allowed herself to be used as an oversized pillow. Shizuru mumbled her contentment against her back, snuggling closer. Raising an arm and switching off the lamp, Natsuki decided that maybe Halloween wasn't so bad after all.


	6. Bad Day?

A/N-- This one's for Kurai. Happy Birthday, luff. -confetti- You're awesome, so here's your request. I finished it with ten minutes to spare, yay me. I don't think I really have a handle on those two yet, but I hope you enjoy it all the same. Un-beta'd, so if you find anything (and I'm sure someone will), please tell me.

Disclaimer- I do not own Mai Otome. Bleh.

* * *

Mashiro Blan de Windbloom was having a bad day. It hadn't started out too terribly, the only offset being that she had a stack of paperwork to get through. She hadn't been able to sleep much the night before either, thanks to the party that her staff had thrown in honour of something-or-other. Still, that was fairly standard. 

Her first surprise had come right before lunch, when Aoi announced that she was going to be gone for most of the day, and possibly most of the night as well. When asked what for, she'd blushed and made a show of dusting something that didn't need cleaning at all. Later, Arika had nudged her and whispered something about the blue rose that had been in Aoi's hair.

That had been unsuspected, but not so bad. Her next, more…enlightening surprise had been when she and Arika had taken a break from the pile of work and gone to Garderobe to visit everyone. After Arika had caught up with all her friends, she'd suggested they visit the Gakuenchou and see how she was. When they'd asked Nao where she might be, the older girl had smirked and pointed them towards her office.

When Arika had knocked, then burst in seconds later, they certainly hadn't been expecting to see Ms. Viola on top of the Gakuenchou in what looked like a very compromising situation on the desk. A scream, a yelp, and a thrown book later, the door had been slammed, and Arika had suggested weakly that they go home.

That had been horribly awkward, but not so bad that she was ready to throw up her hands and burn all her work. No, that had come when she'd found out she was expected to host a ball, and have everything prepared by next week. She'd been asked in a very polite letter that had had rather forceful undertones. It had been signed 'Yukino Chrysant', but it hadn't sounded one bit like her. She suspected it was from her Otome, the loud one. Lovely.

That, combined with the already huge workload that was stubbornly ignoring all her attempts to finish it, hadn't helped raise her mood at all. She was all set for putting her head in her hands and moping when her door was almost knocked off its hinges, announcing the entrance of a brown blur that ran up to her desk and placed its hands on it, blue eyes staring at her concernedly.

"Mashiro-chan, you should stop working."

The young queen blinked. "Stop? But I have to get all of this done by tomorrow, and then there's that ball, and-"

Arika cut her off with an impatient wave of her hand. "We can deal with that later tonight, and the ball's not until next week. Right now, you need a break."

Not giving her any time to protest, the energy-charged girl grabbed her hand and pulled her away from her desk and over to the door. Struggling to keep her balance, Mashiro managed, 'Where are we going, then?"

Still grasping her hand, Arika twirled around and laughed. "Anywhere, everywhere. We'll make up our minds on the way."

Smiling and allowing herself to be dragged out the door, Mashiro decided that maybe the day hadn't been quite that bad after all.


	7. Happy Birthday

Woo, I got it done with one minute to spare! Victory for Naolin So, anyway. Happy Birthday, Shizuru. Ah, how I love December. To share the same month is an honour indeed.

_

* * *

_

_Tick_

Shizuru sighed.

_Tock_

Shizuru yawned.

_Tick_

Shizuru rolled over.

_Tock_

The numbers on the electronic clock on the desk by the bed flashed 8:00pm. Blinking at it, she brushed her hair out of her face and sat up.

"Is it that late already?"

Her voice faded into the dark of the empty apartment. The only answer she received was the continued ticking of the clock. She huffed at it, not fully understanding why Natsuki had insisted on a 'clock that ticks whether it's supposed to or not'. The reason she'd given was that if their clock had to be electronic, it would at least sound the way clocks should. In Shizuru's opinion, that wasn't a very good reason. Still, her Natsuki had wanted it that way, so the clock that ticked had come to stay. And speaking of Natsuki…

She reached over and flicked on the lamp resting on the bedside table. The light winked at her cheerfully, and she felt instantly and inexplicably annoyed. Natsuki had left for classes early that morning with a hastily whispered, 'I'll be back before tonight'. As she was fairly sure eight o'clock qualified as 'tonight', she couldn't help feeling the slightest bit upset that the younger girl hadn't kept her promise. True, she wasn't that late, and yet… It was only a simple thing, but she would have thought that today of all days…

Alone in the suddenly too-quiet room, her insecurities came out to play. They were less insistent these days, but when they appeared they still taunted her as loudly and stubbornly as ever.

_Natsuki's grown tired of you…_

_She's scared of you…_

_Of course she wants to avoid you, why wouldn't she…?_

She found herself wanting to cover her ears, even knowing that it wouldn't make a difference. Settling on laying back down, she closed her eyes and tried to re-enter the dream world she'd been so happy in not half an hour before. It was going fairly well for a few minutes, until she heard what sounded like a herd of elephants trying to be quiet and failing miserably.

"-up the stairs or I'll carry you!"

"Try it and I'll stuff you in the cake."

"Don't you think Shizuru-san would enjoy that more?"

"M-Midori, you idiot!"

Startled, she sat up. Natsuki, Nao, and Midori?

"Be quiet, she'll hear us."

"With the rackets you're making, Tokiha, of course she will."

"Ruckus, Haruka-chan."

"Mai, can I eat the cake?"

"No, not yet."

"I can't take _any_ pictures?"

"Not after last year's Halloween party, Chie-chan."

"But Aoi…"

After that there was a short period of almost-silence, then the familiar sound of a key turning in the lock. The overhead light was switched on, overpowering the steady glow of the lamp. There was a pause, then a deafening blast of sound in the form of "Happy Birthday!"

Finding she was gaping and deciding she really couldn't care less, Shizuru stared blankly at the door. In spite of that, or perhaps because of it, the group stormed in and surrounded the table in the small-ish kitchen. Mai set the cake she was holding down, with a cheery 'Happy Birthday, Shizuru-san' written in purple frosting. Since staring non-plussedly seemed to be working, Shizuru kept it up.

"How did you…?"

Natsuki grinned sheepishly. "I thought it might be fun to invite some people, so I got Mai after school and she helped me drag Nao out of her Biology lecture. Then we ran into Yukino in the hallway, and she got Haruka for us, and Chie found us trying to leave quietly and ran and got Aoi-"

Midori cut in with an amused voice. "And then they commandeered Haruka-san's car in the name of haste, drove across town to get to my house, had Natsuki-chan threaten to knock down my door if I didn't come out, and when that didn't work Nao-chan picked the lock."

"My professor's going to murder me, you know," Nao dryly stated. "I left right in the middle of what's probably going to be on our Winter Exam."

"We'll make it up to you with cake," said Midori cheerfully.

Resigning herself to the facts and deciding that she may as well enjoy herself, Shizuru walked over to the table and sat down, looking around at the familiar faces. Midori was fighting with Mikoto over who would get to cut the cake, Chie was begging Aoi to let her take pictures, Mai and Yukino were watching her expectantly, Haruka was grudgingly smiling, Nao was pretending she didn't want to be there and not fooling anyone, and Natsuki was trying not to look pleased with herself while blushing profusely.

Waiting until things were as quiet as they were going to get, Natsuki spoke up. "So, um… Happy Birthday, Shizuru." Her Natsuki would never be a great speech-maker, but she was wonderful all the same. Smiling, Shizuru blew out the candle.

_Indeed. _


End file.
